Why it works: Brandy and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Corned Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cure
Select a good round of beef and remove all kernels.
Pound the saltpetre in a mortar.
Take the rind of 4 limes and 1 tablespoon of brandy, pound well.
Mix the lime rind and brandy with half of the saltpetre and 1 cup of salt.
Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and set aside.
Puncture the beef lightly with a clean fork or needle.
Brine the beef
Rub 1 part of the mixture into the beef and set aside.
After 1-2 hours, take another part of the mixture.
Squeeze in the juice of the 4 limes.
Rub the mixture into the beef, puncturing it lightly again.
Turn the beef over from side to side to ensure even brining.
Rub it several times throughout the day.
The next morning, remove the beef from the brine and place it in a dry dish.
Rub in another part of the mixture and let it stand for an hour.
Pour the old brine over the beef.
Repeat the rubbing 2-3 times throughout the day, turning the beef continually.
Finish the cure
On the third day, rub in half of the remaining saltpetre and let it stand for 1-2 hours.
Add the rest of the saltpetre and the juice of the remaining 4 limes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Beef + limetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together539 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Beef + brandytop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,000 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Brandy + limetop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together165 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Sugar + limetop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,332 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Brandy and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Forms the meat that is cured and becomes tender and sliceable after brining.
- Cooking salt
- Draws moisture out and seasons the meat while helping it cure.
- Saltpetre
- Preserves the meat and gives cured beef its characteristic pink colour.
- Limes
- Add acidity that brightens the flavour of the cure.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma to the cure.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the salt in the cure.
The step that matters
Turning and rubbing the beef through the brine. Salt and curing agents penetrate slowly, so uneven contact leaves parts of the meat under-cured. Regular turning and rubbing help the cure reach every area evenly.
Swap the lime
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, brandy, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Limethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, brandy, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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